It is “critical” that Low Emission Zones (LEZs) are introduced “by 2020” in Scotland’s four largest cities, says Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity Michael Matheson.
Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh are all set for LEZs while a staged multi-year transition has already begun in Glasgow. All Scottish LEZs will require Euro VI compliance from coaches and buses if a daily charge is to be avoided.
Mr Matheson made the remarks at the Confederation of Passenger Transport’s Scottish Conference. They came as the Scottish Government made a further £8.85m available to upgrade older buses to the latest standards via the third round of the Bus Emission Abatement Retrofit (BEAR) Fund.
The money will be provided in 2019/20 and the latest BEAR round will particularly support “micro and small bus operators,” says Transport Scotland.
The scheme offers up to 60% grant funding towards a combination of CVRAS-accredited exhaust retrofit technology and ancillary costs over a five-year period, although all operators are eligible to claim 100% of costs under the de minimus allowance capped at €200,000 over three financial years. Rates can be boosted by 5% if depots concerned are in an ‘assisted area’
Air quality performance of retrofitted buses will be monitored by Transport Scotland.
Previous BEAR rounds saw £2.5m provided to support the retrofit of 166 existing buses, but the scheme was criticised as much of the money was not awarded. In the second round, £7.89m was made available but only £1.58m was awarded.
The BEAR funding complements the more than £500m that the Scottish government has committed to bus priority improvements.
